A recently landed plane at Haneda Airport.
I read or heard a quote a while back. I don’t recall where I saw it or where it originally came from, but it has been knocking around my head a lot lately. The saying, as I recall it, said something along the lines of this: Travel is unpleasant and difficult in the moment. It becomes an adventure in the retelling. This floated through my thoughts a bit more than a week ago as I found myself sitting in an airport, on my way to Sasebo for a wedding. I realized two things as I sat down, waiting for my flight. First, it had been several years, more than five years in fact. My other travels around Japan have been entirely carried out by train or bus, since there are usually no shortage of places to stop and things to see on the way to wherever my final destination happens to be.
Hiking up a mountain in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It was a tough hike, but the view was remarkable.
Also ran into an old lady who, while she seemed a bit cold toward me at first, had a pleasant conversation with me once she realized I spoke passable Japanese.
The second thing I realized is that I really don’t like airports. Or the act of traveling in general for that matter. It is uncomfortable. It is always either too hot or too cold. And whether it is the train, an airplane, or a bus, it is always crowded and cramped. It always takes all day and leaves me tired when I get to where I am going. And yet, I keep doing it. You see, I’ve realized that it isn’t the traveling that matters. It is the destination, the experience, that is the most important. That is what stays with me long after the discomfort and tiredness have faded. That is what makes each trip special. Being able to see the world’s oldest wooden building, or one of the most beautiful castles in the world is an incredible thing. And in my most recent trip, I was able to see my good friend and co-blogger get married in a beautiful, multi-cultural ceremony and reception.
Gassho-Zukuri houses in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefectrue, Japan. This Edo period village looks like a living Christmas card in the winter.
It isn’t just the positive side of travel that leaves its mark or that makes the exercise worth while. The difficulties, troubles, and headaches also change us and are what makes this a true adventure. Those are the parts that are definitely an adventure only in the retelling. Seeing Shirakawago, an Edo period farming village in the snow was incredible in the moment, but I find that I tell the story of finding myself in a rather run-down, shifty hostel in Kyoto with some weird guy looking over my shoulder trying to see my locker combination just as often, and it is often a much longer story and much more animated in the telling. I’ve realized that these trials, the discomfort, getting lost, and all of the hard parts of traveling are as important as the incredible places I’ve seen and the great people I’ve met. So, for me, I think the journey is as important as the destination, and the true adventure is in the retelling.
Sasebo harbor and the Sasebo Navy Base from the mountainside in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.